North Carolina § 7A-37 - 1. Statewide court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration in certain civil actions.

§ 7A-37. 1. Statewide court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration in certain civil actions.

The General Assembly finds that court-ordered, nonbinding arbitration may be a more economical, efficient and satisfactory procedure to resolve certain civil actions than by traditional civil litigation and therefore authorizes court-ordered nonbinding arbitration as an alternative civil procedure, subject to these provisions. The Supreme Court of North Carolina may adopt rules governing this procedure and may supervise its implementation and operation through the Administrative Office of the Courts. These rules shall ensure that no party is deprived of the right to jury trial and that any party dissatisfied with an arbitration award may have trial de novo. Except as otherwise provided in rules promulgated by the Supreme Court of North Carolina pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, this procedure shall be employed in all civil actions in district court, unless all parties to the action waive arbitration under this section. Except as provided in subsection (c2) of this section, in cases referred to nonbinding arbitration as provided in this section, a fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be assessed per arbitration, to be divided equally among the parties, to cover the cost of providing arbitrators. Fees assessed under this section shall be paid to the clerk of superior court in the county where the case was filed and remitted by the clerk to the State Treasurer. In appeals in small claims actions under Article 19 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes, if (i) the arbitrator finds in favor of the appellee, (ii) the arbitrator's decision is appealed for trial de novo under G.S. 7A-229, and (iii) the arbitrator's decision is affirmed on appeal, then the court shall consider the fact that the arbitrator's decision was affirmed as a significant factor in favor of assessing all court costs and attorneys' fees associated with the case in both the original action and the two appeals, including the arbitration fee assessed under subsection (c1) of this section, against the appellant. This procedure may be implemented in a judicial district, in selected counties within a district, or in any court within a district, if the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the cognizant Senior Resident Superior Court Judge or the Chief District Court Judge of any court selected for this procedure, determine that use of this procedure may assist in the administration of justice toward achieving objectives stated in subsection (a) of this section in a judicial district, county, or court. The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, acting upon the recommendation of the cognizant Senior Resident Superior Court Judge or Chief District Court Judge of any court selected for this procedure, may terminate this procedure in any judicial district, county, or court upon a determination that its use has not accomplished objectives stated in subsection (a) of this section. Arbitrators in this procedure shall have the same immunity as judges from civil liability for their official conduct. History (1989, c. 301, s. 1; 2002-126, s. 14.3(a); 2003-284, s. 36A.1; 2013-159, s. 3; 2013-225, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1989, c. 301, s. 1, provided: "Nothing herein contained shall be construed to obligate the General Assembly to appropriate funds to implement the provisions of this act." Session Laws 2013-159, s. 6, made the amendment to this section by Session Laws 2013-159, s. 3, applicable to actions filed on or after August 1, 2013. Session Laws 2013-225, s. 8, made the amendment to subsection (c) by Session Laws 2013-225, s. 1, applicable to actions filed on or after August 1, 2013. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2013-159, s. 3, effective August 1, 2013, rewrote subsection (c), which formerly read "This procedure may be employed in civil actions where claims do not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), except that it shall not be employed in actions in which the sole claim is an action on an account, including appeals from magistrates on such actions"; substituted "Except as provided in subsection (c2) of this section, in" for "In" in subsection (c1); and added subsection (c2). For applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2013-225, s. 1, effective August 1, 2013, substituted "in district court" for "where claims do not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)" in subsection (c). For applicability, see editor's note. Legal Periodicals. - For note, "No-Frills Justice: North Carolina Experiments with Court-Ordered Arbitration," see 66 N.C.L. Rev. 395 (1988). For article, "Court-Ordered Arbitration in North Carolina: Selected Issues of Practice and Procedure," see 21 Campbell L. Rev. 191 (1999). For article, "Clause Construction: A Glimpse Into Judicial and Arbitral Decision-Making," see 68 Duke L.J. 1324 (2019).